@ADOBEUK

News, views and musings from the Adobe UK team

This month the Adobe Education team has been travelling the nation, visiting students and educators across the United Kingdom to spread the word and help inspire creativity in education. Many students, educators and creative professionals attended the biggest UK Campus Tour yet, across seven different venues. They were treated to exclusive insider information and content from Adobe’s Creative Cloud as well as tips and tricks on how to advance their creative work.

The Campus Tour was attended by students, teachers and lecturers, as well as local professionals with an interest in learning more about Creative Cloud. Our experts included Pro Video Evangelist for Education Michael O’Neill and Senior Solutions Consultant Iona Walters, and their stunning demonstrations gave attendees a brilliant insight into the power of Creative Cloud.

Jamie Eason is the Digital Resources Manager for the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design at the University of Dundee. Having recently signed an agreement with Adobe to give Duncan of Jordanstone full access to Creative Cloud, Jamie believed the Campus Tour was an “ideal way to show everyone what this new software can do.” He continued “Adobe is helping to train the next wave of creative graduates, and we’re delighted to be working with such a passionate, forward-thinking multinational company.”

Salford University’s Academic Director Andrew Cooper was also thrilled with the Campus Tour visit to their campus in Media City UK. He said that their partnership with Adobe “exemplifies their trans-disciplinary work with industry”, and ”the opportunity for students and staff to mix with industry experts from Adobe was not to be missed”. He continued; “Events like this are crucial to our development of next generation talent across the spectrum of creative media and digital technologies, and they play a key role in our contribution to the innovative eco-system that has been rapidly established at MediaCityUK.’

The aim and vision with this series of Adobe Campus Tour events was to empower students and educators with information, tips and skills so they can use our creative tools more effectively and efficiently to advance their creative ideas.

Video Evangelist Michael added that he had met “so many amazingly talented students” during the Campus Tour, and that “their passion for design and desire to learn was incredibly inspiring.” He added, “The Campus Tour was a brilliant way to meet the next generation of creative professionals face-to-face, and to find out what it is they need and want from their tools.”

If you want to see more from the Adobe Campus Tours then check out our Facebook albums from the events. We are also delighted to announce that after the huge success of this year’s Campus Tour it will be back bigger and better than ever in 2014. If you think your university or college deserves a visit from the Adobe team then apply here.

Mark A’Bear, UK Education Manager, Adobe UK responds to the publication of the new national curriculum for computing which aims to teach children between the age of five and 16 to code

“Adobe welcomes the government’s publication of the new national curriculum for computing, which aims to teach children between the age of five and 16 how to code. This is a positive move that will not only help to increase student engagement, but also provide young people with the digital creativity skills needed in today’s workplace.

Our own research tells us 67%* of educators across the UK believe that creativity in education is vital to fuel the economies of the future, yet despite this 65% of teachers believe they can be doing more to teach this affectively, with 61% saying they feel the current education system is stifling them. Furthermore, 69% of teachers pinpoint having access to more tools and techniques as being the number one way they can teach creativity more effectively, further highlighting the need for schools to invest in the latest technologies to help support their staff.

We work with schools, such as Chalfonts Community College in which technology and digital skills such as coding plays a central role in helping to drive creativity in its students. For example, they rewrote the traditional art specification to include digital media – from animation, digital imaging, film game making – to help students learn creative skills which influence their approach across the curriculum. Through learning complex digital skills such as coding, they not only saw an increase of attainment increase, but an increase of student engagement too, in particular with previously disengaged boys.

The government review of the computing curriculum is certainly a step in the right direction towards creating a more creative learning environment, but the next step will be ensuring students are given the right industry standard tools to work with. It’s therefore up to institutions to increase student access to technology, which will in turn give them a freer rein to express their creative talents.”

Red Bull, in partnership with Adobe, has just made art history! And we’re inviting members of the public to be part of it when it hits London as part of a three day exhibition from 5 – 7 June 2013. After taking in LA, Oslo and Mexico City, London will host the Red Bull Collective Art exhibition, in partnership with Adobe, at Red Bull Studios, London Bridge. The exhibition is free of charge and open 11am – 5pm each day.

But what is it all about? Well, in a nutshell, more than 2,000 individual pieces of artwork (90% of which, were created using tools available in Adobe Creative Cloud) have been brought together to create one piece of ‘collective art’ measuring a massive 1.3km in length – that’s 500m longer than the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.

Back in February, we announced our partnership with Red Bull Collective Art, a project which gave creative talent from across the globe – including everyone from designers and artists, to photographers and publicists – the chance to take part in creating the biggest and most original piece of artwork the world has ever seen.

The project saw contributions from 85 countries and brought ‘Cadavre Exquís’ into the digital age by layering multiple pieces of art created by different people to make one collective piece. Of the 2,000 people that took part, 500 submissions were from the UK, testament to the extraordinary creativity of our nation. Each contributor had one hour to put their artistic stamp on the final piece of artwork, which is now being exhibited in a variety of unique settings around the world, giving members of the public the opportunity to see this ground-breaking piece of art.

To learn more about the project, you can visit the website where you can browse and interact with the inspirational pieces of art from around the globe. You can also follow the social journey using #CreateNow and #RedBullCollectiveArt.

Breaking news for all budding and pro creatives out there! Today marks the start of our countdown to the UK Creative Day, set to be staged at Kings Place in London in just over two weeks time! The event is one in a series of 14 Creative Days happening all across Europe as part of Adobe’s bumper Create Now World Tour. It’s taking place on Tuesday 4th June and will be a celebration of creativity and expressiveness in the UK.

Hosted by tech enthusiast David McClelland, Creative Day will feature a mix of industry luminaries, influencers and our very own global evangelists, including Rufus Deuchler, Paul Trani, Jason Levine, as well as our UK experts, Richard Curtis, Iona Walters, Rupert Knowles and Niels Stevens. Each will take to the stage – together with inspirational creatives – throughout Creative Day and cover all that’s hot in Adobe Creative Cloud.

Creative Day will be packed with lively debates, exclusive demonstrations and inspirational case studies – all broadcast online at www.adobecreativedays.com/uk from 9.45am. Plus, we’re giving 400 lucky people the chance to be in the live audience – just register here to take part in person.

Liz Wilkins, senior marketing manager for Digital Media at Adobe, said: “The UK creative industry is one of the most exciting and dynamic sectors to work in. Creative Day will be a fantastic chance for creatives to come together, exchange ideas, hear from luminaries and and learn about the very latest in Creative Cloud”.

David McClelland who is hosting the event said: “I’m thrilled to be working with Adobe on the London leg of the Creative Days World Tour and am particularly excited about being able to share my Adobe Creative Cloud experience with a live audience, as well as with tens of thousands watching online”.